A woman trying to live on nothing but water for up to six months is calling it quits after 47 days.

Naveena Shine, 65, from Redmond, Seattle, stopped eating on May 3 in a bid to explore breatharianism - the concept that food is not necessary and sunlight provides all of the nourishment the body needs.

But on Sunday she announced via Facebook and YouTube that she is ending the extreme self-experiment because she has realized that it's 'totally dangerous' and likely to cause death.

Scroll down for video

Extreme self-experiment: Naveena Shine seen in the first week of not eating (left) and six weeks later (right)

The retiree, originally from the UK, also says that she didn’t want to be responsible for others trying to 'live on light” without having their 'belief systems lined up'.

Share this article

She continued: 'Somebody doing this without all of that in place is synonymous to watching a tightrope walker high in the air, admiring them and thinking you can do it too.

'Now that I see all that feedback, I am really seeing that it is totally dangerous'

'If I got up there and tried to copy them, the result would be instant death.'

Ms Shine will 'slowly' resume eating on June 19. In 45 days she has lost 20per cent of her body weight, taking her five-foot four-inch frame down from 159 to 126 pounds.

Other than water she has also been drinking tea with a 'splash of milk' and recently started taking daily vitamin supplements.

HOW LONG CAN SOMEONE LIVE ON WATER ALONE?

Dr Alan D. Lieberson explains in the Scientific American the length of survival without food is influenced by factors such as body weight, other health considerations and, most importantly, the presence or absence of dehydration.

Unlike total starvation, near-total starvation with continued hydration has occurred frequently, both in history - during famines, for example - and in patients under medical supervision.

A Q&A section on New York's Colombia University website explains that after one day without food, the body will have used up its carbohydrates. After that, it's on to the fat reserves.

The average person apparently has enough fat reserves to live for four to six weeks without food. From there the body begins to use its protein reserves - basically, the body itself - which causes irreparable damage to vital organs including the brain.

It states that on average people can last for about eight weeks on water alone, give or take about a week for an over or underweight person, respectively.

Unpleasant side effects of her no-food diet have included 'sensations of bile' at the back of her throat, sickness, nausea and constipation.

It also impacted on her social life. On day seven she wrote: 'My friends had a barbeque tonight! I could not actually smell it but I could hear them all having a good time. They did send me their love but no steak!

'Food is such a social connection that to give up the addiction to food also requires learning how to interact in a non-food situation.

'Imagine going to a wedding or a party or a buffet and not eating! I don’t even want to think of it!'

Confined to the same four walls, Ms Shine has been filling her time with movies, exercise and sleep.

In one of her video entries she claimed she felt 'very well' and only occasionally experienced 'twinges of what feels like hunger'.

However, now she days that negative public reaction has caused her to reconsider what she is doing.

'There are a lot of people who are genuinely concerned for safety and genuinely don't think it's possible and believe it to be dangerous,' she said on Sunday.

'Now that I see all that feedback, I am really seeing that it is totally dangerous.'

Under surveillance: The retiree installed security cameras around her home to prove she didn't sneak snacks

Doctors have warned that it is not possible for humans to photosynthesize, and four deaths have been linked to people who apparently had tried.

Too extreme: Ms Shine set out to survive on nothing but water for six months

Another motivating factor for ending the experiment, says Ms Shine, is that she’s out of money.

Originally she hoped publicizing her efforts through social media would help keep her financially afloat, but to date she has only received $425 in contributions via her website.

For the experiment she maxed out her credit cards buying equipment such as eight security cameras. She had them installed in her small trailer to prove she wasn’t sneaking snacks.

The last day she ate solid food was on April 30. She then embarked on a three-day juice cleanse and underwent colonics in preparation for the prolonged fast.

As for her first meal, she told The Seattle Timesit will consist of ‘lemon juice for vitamin C and a spoonful of maple syrup in warm water for energy’. She will then move on to liquidy vegetables such as spinach or zucchini sautéed in water.'

There are thought to be more than 5,000 breatharianists and light nutritionists worldwide.